


Never Had A Friend Like Me

by Storygirl000



Series: The Miraculous Salt Collection [1]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien salt, Good Friend Alya Césaire, Lila salt, Minor Crossovers, Multi, alya deserves better, except maaaaaaybe marinette's boyfriend, ml salt, none of which are focused on much
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-06
Updated: 2019-12-06
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:14:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,662
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21696010
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Storygirl000/pseuds/Storygirl000
Summary: Lila’s making good on her promise, and Marinette is finding herself increasingly isolated from the class. At least she still has her best friend by her side.
Relationships: Alya Césaire & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Alya Césaire/Nino Lahiffe, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Series: The Miraculous Salt Collection [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1568887
Comments: 35
Kudos: 761





	Never Had A Friend Like Me

**Author's Note:**

> So guess who’s sick of Alya and Nino getting the short end of the stick in salt fics?
> 
> Seriously, guys. “Chameleon” was a poorly-written episode in regards to every character it featured, but everyone still treats it like it’s the final word on what Alya and Nino are like. All I want is ONE salt fic where they actually support Marinette throughout Lila’s reign of terror.
> 
> And then I thought, “Well, if you want something done right...”
> 
> So enjoy this rare pro-Alya salt fic!
> 
> (Comments from the Lila anon, if she's still around, will be deleted.)

The day after Lila had threatened her in front of the school, Marinette opened the bakery door to find Alya there, tears streaming down her face.

Marinette brought her inside, asking her what had happened, and listened intently as her friend poured her heart out to her. In a way, she wasn’t that surprised by what she heard.

Apparently, Alya had finally thought to do some research on Lila, and (naturally) had discovered that all of her claims of meeting various celebrities were false. This had led to her deleting Lila’s interview from the Ladyblog, posting a lengthy apology to her readers, calling Nino (who had been equally horrified by the revelation), and concluding that she was an irredeemably horrible person who didn’t deserve the friendship of someone she threw under the bus for a stranger.

Touched, Marinette told her that she forgave her, and that they could still be friends as long as she’d truly learned her lesson. Alya accepted that, and the two of them spent the rest of the day eating cookies and discussing various things.

Like how they were going to break this to the rest of their classmates.

00000

Four weeks after Lila’s threat, school had become more difficult.

On the upside, most of the class accepted the evidence Alya had provided and cut ties with Lila. And as it turned out, several of them were close to discovering the truth themselves beforehand.

On the downside, Lila still had several members of the class (Kim, Max, Ivan, Mylene) and most of the teachers under her thumb. And Ms. Bustier’s “set a good example” policy meant that if any of them tried to argue with Lila or question her authority, they’d get punished.

And frustratingly enough, Adrien  _ still _ stuck by his original mindset. No matter how many times the others tried to convince him, he kept insisting that Lila wasn’t doing any harm and that they were in the wrong.

Needless to say, his friendship with Nino and Marinette’s crush on him disappeared.

But, for all the friends they lost, they gained some new ones. Aurore and Mireille became a part of Marinette’s inner circle after she designed some outfits for them. Nathaniel and Juleka brought in Marc and Luka, respectively. Kagami joined them as well, slowly being eased into the idea of having friends. And – most surprisingly – Chloe and Sabrina joined them, both having long seen through Lila’s facade. While there were still the occasional clashes, Chloe’s relationship with most of the group soon became a genuine friendship (and maybe a little more with Kagami, though she wouldn’t admit it for a long time).

Alya was confident they could make it through Lila’s reign.

00000

Two years after Lila’s threat, Alya discovered that her best friend was Ladybug.

Hawk Moth and Mayura’s attacks had only gotten harder to deal with over the years, and it didn’t help that Chat Noir had become a horrible hero, refusing to help out unless Ladybug gave in to his increasingly unwanted advances.

The heroine needed some permanent help. Someone she could turn to when the times got tough, someone she could trust with her secret identity. Someone who could help when Chat Noir refused to.

She chose Alya and Nino.

Now, Rena Rouge and Carapace regularly joined Ladybug on patrols, helping her fight akumas and sentimonsters. The Ladyblog quickly received a boost in popularity, thanks to the increasingly common interviews with the heroes themselves.

As the time passed, more and more heroes would come and go – the indomitable trio of Queen Bee, Ryuko, and Good Girl, the brother-sister-sister’s girlfriend team of Viperion, Tigress, and the Pink Princess, the genre-savvy Gallus and Chevre Blanc, the crowd-pleasing Cloudjumper and Souris, and the ever-mysterious time-traveller Bunnyx – but the core trio of Ladybug, Rena Rouge, and Carapace remained.

Chat Noir’s popularity dropped like a stone. Alya made sure of it.

00000

Six years after Lila’s threat, Marinette finally launched her brand.

With the help of a website designed by Alya and positive word of mouth thanks to Jagged Stone, MDC Designs quickly grew in popularity. Soon, celebrities across the world – ranging from the children of the popular businessman Bruce Wayne to singers like Clara Nightingale and Austin Moon – all wanted an MDC Original in their closets.

Eventually, Gabriel Agreste himself reached out to her and asked to do a business partnership. Not only did she refuse, she went on to do an interview detailing exactly  _ how _ badly Gabriel’s heir and his girlfriend treated her in high school.

Adrien Agreste and Lila Rossi became the biggest punchlines in the entertainment business since Lindsay Lohan. 

Marinette, meanwhile, met the love of her life doing a commission for the president of Okumura Foods, who introduced her to one of her close friends.

All in all, Alya figured they were doing well for themselves.

00000

Eight years after Lila’s threat, Chat Noir lost his Miraculous on live television.

From what Alya could piece together, Chat had seen Marinette and Ren interacting while the former was in costume. Naturally, the entitled brat had decided to seek out Ren and threaten him, all while spouting his beliefs that Ladybug was  _ destined _ for him.

Hawk Moth promptly took advantage of Ren’s anger, creating one of the most powerful akumas the team had ever fought.

The akuma had immediately gone for Chat, stripping him of his ring in front of a live news crew and revealing to the world that he was none other than Adrien Agreste. He then verbally tore into the former golden boy, revealing every horrible thing he’d done as both a model and as Chat Noir.

The team managed to purify the akuma and rescue Ren, but Adrien escaped in the struggle and disappeared. Not that it mattered; they had the Cat Miraculous back, ensuring that he wouldn’t be able to misuse it anymore.

Five days later, the public was introduced to Kuro Neko.

Two days after that, Hawk Moth publicly announced his and Mayura’s retirement from supervillainy.

One week after that, Monarch and Pavone Cristallo took their place.

Life went on.

00000

Ten years after Lila’s threat, Alya was in Los Angeles, watching the Oscars live.

Marinette had been nominated for Best Costume Design for her work on a movie that had been nominated for several other awards, and she had invited Alya, Nino, and Ren to come with her to the ceremony. Naturally, they’d accepted.

As the various announcements and performances went on, Alya thought over what the past ten years had been like for her and her classmates.

Rose and Juleka had gotten married practically as soon as high school was over, and their wedding had been a gothic fairytale straight out of a Grimm Brothers book. Juleka eventually became one of Marinette’s top models, while Rose became a teacher, striving to be better than the one she had in high school.

Marc and Nathaniel had started publishing their Mightillustrator and Reverser comics, which soon became popular for their positive portrayal of a gay couple and the general lack of angst most superhero comics at the time had. A movie adaptation was currently in the works.

Chloe had taken over her father’s hotel business, and was still doing her best to become a better person with the help of Kagami (her girlfriend, now a world-class fencer) and Sabrina (now a politician on the campaign trail). She also modeled for Marinette on occasion.

Luka was currently on tour as one-half of the musical duo Fangs, alongside his fiance (a lovely girl named Avril that Alya was, regrettably, not well-acquainted with). Their wedding was scheduled for next year, and everyone was dying with anticipation.

Aurore and Mireille had also gotten married, and both had become regular models in Marinette’s lineup. Aurore had also gotten a job as TVi’s weather girl, and Mireille was the new host of KIDZ+.

Alix had become a popular street artist, with her art regularly being featured in Parisian museums. She’d also taken over as Collège François Dupont’s new art teacher after Mr. Haberkorn’s retirement, which kept her in regular contact with Rose and Juleka.

The ones who had followed Lila’s word to the letter back in high school eventually managed to break free from her influence, though they knew nothing would ever be the same between them and the rest of the class. Kim and Ondine had gotten married, and they now worked as coaches in the same school as Rose and Alix. Max had managed to get a job as a scientist for a major computer company, and worked hard on various projects. Mylene and Ivan had also gotten married, the former becoming an actress on a popular TV show.

Lila and Adrien had both opted to stay out of the public eye after all the scandals they’d been a part of. Alya had no idea what they were up to these days, which was probably for the best.

And Alya herself? She was quickly climbing through the ranks as a journalist, and the Ladyblog was as popular as ever. She and Nino had finally tied the knot last year; he’d become a successful DJ, and was recently breaking into directing, with Nath and Marc’s film being his first job.

Her musings were interrupted by a cry of joy coming from her right.

The winner of Best Costume Design had finally been announced.

As Alya watched, Marinette walked up to the stage to accept her award, tears pricking the corner of her eyes. Everyone in the hall started applauding her – Alya, Nino, and Ren doing so the loudest.

She took the statuette, cradling it in her hands, and started on the speech she’d been rehearsing before they’d gotten here.

“The first person I want to dedicate this to is the person who’s stuck by me all these years, through thick and thin,” she said. “My best friend, Alya.”

Alya felt Nino’s hand on her shoulder, and she smiled.

They made it. Together.

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, I did the obligatory Marinette Crossover Pairing. Specifically, I paired her up with Ren Amamiya, the protagonist of Persona 5. I have other plans for this pairing.
> 
> The non-canon Miraculous users are (in order): Dog!Sabrina (Good Girl), Tiger!Juleka (Tigress), Pig!Rose (Pink Princess), Rooster!Nathaniel (Gallus), Goat!Marc (Chevre Blanc), Horse!Aurore (Cloudjumper), Mouse!Mireille (Souris), Cat!Ren (Kuro Neko), Evil!Butterfly!Adrien (Monarch), and Peacock!Lila (Pavone Cristallo).
> 
> The briefly-mentioned Avril is an OC I created a while ago that I've been meaning to do more with. (no she's not a self insert whose only purpose is to hook up with Luka why do you ask)


End file.
